Houston Business Journal articles from March 1996

Houston Business Journal archives from March 1996

Florida builder pulling out of The Grove. (planned retail complex in Houston, Texas)
March 1, 1996... Big tenants back away from $60 million retail center Plans for the much-ballyhooed The Grove retail and entertainment complex in Stafford have reportedly been scrapped after investor problems caused some major tenants to pull out of the...

New Integra takes title as top Hispanic firm in city. (Integra Financial Services Corp. in Houston, Texas)
March 1, 1996... It looks like Houston-based RioStar Corp. can say adios to its reign as Houston's largest Hispanic-owned business - at least for now. Bumping out RioStar, the owner of Ninfa's Restaurants, is an investment and financial services company headed...

Feuding sports firms take 'Big Ball' game to court. (Big Ball Sports Inc.'s lawsuit against Advanced Sports Concepts of Ohio)
March 1, 1996... A bouncing disagreement over trademark rights The local maker of Big Ball T-shirts is fighting with the Ohio manufacturer of the BigBall training ball over rights to the company's name. In fact, the feuding firms are making a federal case...

Window blinds maker building new factory and adding 80 jobs. (Novo Industries)
March 1, 1996... A Houston-based plastic window blinds manufacturer is expanding its product line and will hire about 80 people to work in a new multimillion-dollar facility in northwest Houston. Novo Industries has received a tax abatement from the City of...

Growing kids: KinderCare plans 15 more Houston centers. (KinderCare Learning Centers Inc.)
March 1, 1996... Nation's largest child care chain encounters unique obstacles in Texas market Undaunted by a state law that makes it harder to compete in Texas, an Alabama-based day care provider plans to open more than 15 new company-owned centers in the...

'The turnaround guy.' (NorAm Energy Corp. chairman Milt Honea)
March 1, 1996... Milt Honea came to NorAm Energy with a reputation for reviving defunct companies. Now he's reshaping the image of the nation's third-largest gas distribution firm. His name is unfamiliar, mispronounced and misunderstood, but Milt Honea says...

Driven by details. (Team Auto Detailing owner Jim Eberle)(Growth Strategies)
March 1, 1996... Two years ago, Jim Eberle was collecting cans to make ends meet. Now he services a fleet of classic cars as owner of one of the hottest auto detailing shops in Houston. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom before success comes your way. Just...

Quanex Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
March 1, 1996... NYSE NX 1900 WEST LOOP SOUTH, SUITE 1500, HOUSTON 77027 (713) 961-4600 Quanex Corp. is a leading producer of specialized metal products made from carbon and alloy steel and aluminum. The company operates four divisions with 14 steel and...

'Net profits.' (Insync Internet Services Inc. owner Geary Broadnax)(Small Business Monthly)
March 1, 1996... Insync Internet Services Owner Geary Broadnax hopes that by providing access to the Internet, his one-year-old company will cash in on the World Wide Web. You have to stand in line to offer Internet access in Houston. More than 100 providers -...

Posh Wash: going public with a twist. (public offering of Posh International to fund the marketing of an all-purpose car cleaner and an engine additive)(includes related article on Posh International's Regulation offerings)
March 8, 1996... Houston entrepreneur Don Shriver has a peculiar way of naming his products. He pulls out a thesaurus, scans the pages and waits for a word to jump out at him. So far, the method has worked pretty well. Nearly 20 years ago, an inventor...

Fetus freezing firm spawns controversy. (Cyrogenic Solutions Inc.'s cryopreservation of aborted fetal tissue without guarantee of reanimating them)
March 8, 1996... A Houston company is touting a new abortion option that entails freezing an aborted fetus for implantation at a more suitable time. Under the process, fetal tissue can be aborted, cryopreserved and stored for 10 years at a cost of $356, claim...

A bigger slice of Pye: retail clothier weaving nationwide discount chain. (clothing retailer Walter Pye's NAL Superstores)
March 8, 1996... While many Houston clothing retailers are hanging on by a thread, Walter Pye's NAL Superstores is fashioning a national discount chain. The Houston-based company is adding two stores here next month and eyeing new out-of-state locations. In...

Reading & Bates forms new company to enter oil business. (Reading and Bates Corp.; Total Offshore Production Systems)
March 8, 1996... Total Offshore will take equity share in production Reading & Bates Corp., an offshore drilling contractor, is getting into the oil business through a new joint venture it has formed with INTEC, a Houston-based engineering company. The new...

Dallas real estate firm downsizes as expansion plan stalls. (Amend Group)
March 8, 1996... Just months after announcing plans to hire between 150 and 200 people in Houston over the next few years, a Dallas-based real estate services company is downsizing its office here. The Amend Group, a full-service real estate company, employed...

The riceman cometh. (Riviana Foods Pres. and CEO Joseph Hafner)
March 8, 1996... Joseph Hafner has seen Riviana Foods go from public to private and back to public again. Through all of the changes, he's focused on making the company's products household brand names. People sometimes refer to Joseph A. Hafner Jr. as "that...

Amazing Siding. (home improvement company)(Company Profile)
March 8, 1996... Investment in 'double lifetime guarantee' paid off for salesman starting a business When Phil Birner started Amazing Siding six years ago, he did so with the knowledge that public opinion of his chosen field was extremely low. "I realized...

Baker Hughes Inc. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
March 8, 1996... NYSE, Pacific, Swiss BHI 3900 ESSEX LANE, HOUSTON 77027 (713) 439-8600 Baker Hughes Inc. is a leading provider of products and services for the worldwide petroleum and continuous process industries. Total shares of common stock...

Eastman joins giant chemical consortium: group seeks to build top U.S. ethylene plant. (Eastman Chemical Co.)
March 22, 1996... Eastman Chemical Co. has joined a consortium of three other chemical companies evaluating the feasibility of constructing the largest ethylene plant in the nation, to be located at Lyondell Petrochemical Co.'s site in Channelview. The plant...

Corpus Christi family buys Omni Hotel. (Rowling family)
March 22, 1996... Upscale inn changes hands for fourth time in 10 years Houston's Omni Hotel has changed ownership for the fourth time in a decade, purchased this time by a Corpus Christi family that is attempting to gain a stronghold the upscale hotel market....

Horse farm to become residential community. (Gleannloch Farms in Spring, Texas)
March 22, 1996... Partners buy 2,170-acre Gleannloch tract Two Texas residential development companies have begun the transformation of a former Arabian horse farm into what will be one of the largest master-planned communities to come on line in Houston since...

Courtships end, OrNda acquires Cy-Fair hospital. (OrNda Health Corp.; Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital)
March 22, 1996... Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital, a Houston-area hospital courted by numerous suitors over the past few years, has been sold to OrNda Health-Corp. for undisclosed terms. The purchase gives the Nashville-based company three hospitals in...

Exxon putting entire commercial real estate portfolio on sales block. (Exxon Company U.S.A.)
March 22, 1996... Houston-based Exxon Co. U.S.A. is attempting to unload its entire portfolio of commercial real estate locally and in the Washington, D.C. area, the company announced this week. The parcels total about 7,800 acres. But Exxon officials deny the...

Digicon cancels offering, adopts 'poison pill' to prevent takeover.
March 22, 1996... Improved earnings, merger rumor boost stock price Digicon Inc. abruptly canceled an offering of 3.7 million shares of common stock last week and adopted a "poison pill" defense against unwanted takeovers. Finding itself suddenly a hot...

New $25 million securities firm would result from local merger: Coastal Securities to acquire assets, employees of Government Securities Corp.
March 22, 1996... Two of Houston's largest securities firms plan to merge within the next 45 days - a move that should expand the market for both. As part of the deal announced this week, Coastal Securities Corp. his agreed in principle to acquire most of the...

Professionals conduct business at popular breakfast, lunch spots.(Executive Dining Guide)
March 22, 1996... Professional colleagues - birds of a feather, so to speak - tend to flock together to restaurants. There's some difference between their choices for a power lunch with a client and where they go strictly for a bite to eat. Frequently, however,...

Readers rank best restaurants in Houston.(Executive Dining Guide)
March 22, 1996... Prominent eateries place high on the menu Single best meal: 1) Damian's Cucina Italiana 21 2) Brennan's Houston 7 Ruggles Grill 7 Tony's 7...

SBA survey shows local community banks most 'small-business friendly.' (Small Business Administration)
March 22, 1996... While strategic mergers and acquisitions were a top priority among many of the nation's largest banks last year, some smaller and medium-sized banks were playing a major role in the financing of small business. And according to a study by the...

Local haunts provide something out of the ordinary for customers. (Houston restaurants)(Executive Dining Guide)
March 22, 1996... Going out to eat always involves a degree of escapism - even if just from the kitchen. And a few residents of Houston's varied restaurant landscape offer more than the usual bargain. When you really want to get away from the everyday, here are...

Readers loyal to old favorites, honest about likes and dislikes. (Houston restaurant survey)(Executive Dining Guide)
March 22, 1996... The Dining Survey suggests that Houstonians like their restaurants close in, well-established and, if possible, run by one of a handful of families. The balloting shows a decided preference for inner-city dining. Most of the ranking...

Half a century with the same bank. (Bank of Houston Chairman William Traylor)
March 22, 1996... Bill Traylor has steered Bank of Houston on a conservative course through the city's economic boom and bust. And the 81-year-old financial veteran isn't finished yet. William Traylor is an ambitious Houston banker with an urge for expansion,...

New tree ordinance a regulatory jungle.
March 22, 1996... Like all things produced by committees, the newly revised Houston tree ordinance contains a few good ideas - and one or two big humps. The best thing about the ordinance is the diverse group of interests that played a part in drafting it....

The 'Foul Tips' talk show is on the air. (professional sports in Houston)
March 22, 1996... Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of "Foul Tips," the only live newspaper talk show that gives local fans a chance to speak their minds and sound off on the business of sports in Houston. The lines are open and we're ready to take the...

The big chill: natural gas rises to meet icy challenge.
March 22, 1996... Many Texans spent the early days of February inside warm homes insulated from the arctic blast that gripped most of Texas. What a difference 13 years can make. In December of 1983, freezing temperatures held the Texas natural gas industry...

The black gold rush: discovery of oil changed Houston forever.
March 22, 1996... In 1919, Humble Oil and Refining Co. built a unique facility at the corner of Main and Jefferson streets. This grand structure was not Humble Oil's corporate headquarters, but the company's first local filling station (shown in the photograph...

New agency's leaders tackle old challenges in employment arena. (Texas Workforce Commission)(Focus on Employment)
March 22, 1996... In Austin, a banner reading "Texas Workforce Commission Open for Business" covers the Texas Employment Commission headquarters sign. It was put there March 1 commemorating a first step in a statewide restructuring of agencies involved in...

Generation X impacts workplace, younger employees more realistic.(Focus on Employment)
March 22, 1996... Keep your company cars and country club memberships. And a gold watch won't be necessary upon retirement for Generation Xers. While the older generation remains stuck in perks and 401(k) plans, a new crop of go-getters has entered the work...

Wealth advisors: financial planners fostered growth by watching the client's 'big picture.' (Linscomb and Williams)
March 22, 1996... Top executives these days usually know the value of comprehensive financial planning. But that wasn't the case in 1971, when Dan Linscomb decided to form his own financial planning firm. A 24-year-old lawyer at the time, Linscomb left the...

Arsenal of gadgets adds to Lexus LS400's comfort, luxury.
March 22, 1996... The sheer comfort and handling of the Lexus LS400 is what luxury is all about, and it tells why the car is the best-selling import in its class for six years standing. For starters, the front seats will best your living room La-Z-Boy for...

Dallas group makes bid for Gulfgate Mall. (Tara Group Inc.)
March 29, 1996... One of Houston's oldest retail malls is expected to be purchased by a Dallas development company with a reputation for successful mall redevelopment projects. Sources close to the deal confirm that a letter of intent has been signed by...

Developer shopping for downtown grocery store. (real estate developer John Tsertos, president of Q Ratio Texas, Inc.)
March 29, 1996... Historic building set for new supermarket Hundreds of apartment dwellers moving downtown to occupy newly redeveloped lofts and condominiums should soon have their own grocery store in the Central Business District. Developer John Tsertos is...

HL&P seeking special rates for 100 business customers. (Houston Lighting and Power Co.)
March 29, 1996... Electric utility files plan to test 'real time' prices Houston Lighting & Power Co. has filed with the Public Utility Commission to sell electricity to a handful of business customers at prices that would lop about 5 percent off their bills....

Pool Energy readies two more rigs for anticipated surge in Gulf drilling. (Pool Energy Services Co.; Gulf of Mexico)
March 29, 1996... Pool Energy Services Co. expects a boost in income this year after two of its drilling rigs begin working in the Gulf of Mexico. Responding to a surge in Gulf drilling that continues to build, Pool is investing $7 million to modify an idle...

A-1 Plastics sold to giant London firm. (A-1 Plastic Supply Company Inc.)
March 29, 1996... After 14 months of on-again, off-again negotiations, a 30-year-old Houston-based plastics distributor has been sold to a London company for $8.25 million cash. Bob Brooks, owner of A-1 Plastics, says he sold his plastics distributor and...

New Jersey utility shedding its local Energy Development Corp. (Public Service Enterprise Group)
March 29, 1996... Exploration subsidiary to be sold or spun off in initial public offering In the first local initial public offering this year, a New Jersey-based public utility is planning to spin off its Houston natural gas and oil exploration subsidiary -...

Houston buyer begins renovation of old Gordon's Jewelers building. (investor Edwin A. Allseitz Jr.)
March 29, 1996... Another vacant downtown office building has been taken off the market and is undergoing redevelopment. Houston investor Edwin A. Allseitz Jr. purchased the former Gordon's Jewelers headquarters building at 820 Fannin late last year and has...

Frito-Lay delays Rosenberg expansion to digest Eagle Snacks. (Frito-Lay Inc.; Eagle Snacks Inc.)
March 29, 1996... Project shrinks as salty food giant shifts production to other sites Plano-based Frito-Lay Inc.'s recent acquisition of four Eagle Snacks production facilities hasn't turned out to be much of a tasty deal for Frito-Lay's Rosenberg facility....

Mission Glen or Mission Glen Estates? Small difference, big dispute. (dispute in naming of Fort Bend County subdivision)
March 29, 1996... Residential alliance battles home builders over subdivision name Terry McGaughey is beginning to understand just what's in a name. McGaughey, along with about 50 other homeowners in Fort Bend County, is battling three home builders over the...